My Faulty Flames
by Aiko Isari
Summary: A year before her journey, Molly takes a little trip through the woods of Greenfield.
1. 1

_**A/N:**_ Hi! I know everyone has been enjoying _Quest_. Thank you for that! But here is a short little fic to keep me in the _Pokemon_ spirit! Thus, we need a little one about Molly! Please let me know what you think!

Challenge: Diversity Writing Challenge (Anime) D27. Write in the adventure genre.

* * *

1.

"All right, Molly, are you sure you're up for this?"

Molly puffed out her cheeks and tied her hair back into its blue ribbon. "Yes, Papa!" It was hard to be patient. Her papa was old and her mother had returned and he'd just gotten the whole family back. That was everything she had wanted too. Still!

"I'm gonna be fine!" she insisted. "I'm just going to the next town!"

It was practice. She was only nine, she couldn't do her application for _ages_. So until she could, she wanted to practice trekking across areas, like Ash.

"I'll be fine," she repeated. "I'll have Mary and Usu to protect me." Looking back, she really needed a better choice in nicknames. But she had been _five!_

Her father knelt and mussed her hair. "I know they will." His eyes flickered towards where her mother was sitting on the balcony. Her gaze was knowing, but nothing more. Molly wanted to sigh at it, but she knew better and merely adjusted the Pokeballs on her white belt. Her father stepped away, a reluctant frown on his features.

Tapping her shoes to make sure they were on and not going to go flying off of her feet like they had early this morning, Molly adjusted the tiny bag on her back and made her way towards the entrance of the mansion grounds. "Bye Mama, Papa!"

Her father waved, and her mother sipped her tea.

She was just delivering seeds to the town across the way. What were they worried about?


	2. 2

2.

The beginning of the walk was peaceful and smelling of flowers. She was practically skipping, forcing both of her Pokemon to waddle after her. At Mary's plaintive whine, Molly stopped to pick a few berries, lounging on a rock. Usu was toddling through the flowers, eyes wide and brighter than ever. They looked so healthy, she had worked so hard to keep fur clean and eyes cheery. It was because of her and her parents and Delia and Ash that she knew all of this. The letters and photos they sent, each one churned a flame under the logs in her heart. She still had a year, a whole year.

Her research wouldn't go to waste.

What will you do out there?

Her mother always asks, awkward fear or something.

Molly always shrugged. Weren't adventures for figuring that out? Maybe she'd conquer the gyms. Maybe she'd go see Entei. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

She did want to see Entei. The one she had met wasn't real. What was the real one like? Scary? Gentle? A monster whose fur would burn her hands?

She wanted to know so, _so_ bad.

But first, the seeds.

"Usu, Mary! Let's go!"

She would do this, and then when she turned ten, no one could complain. She knew exactly what she had signed up for: blood and sweat and tears and smiles.

It couldn't come any sooner.


	3. 3

3.

The tiny town was bustling when she arrived. Molly returned her Pokemon as she stepped into the limits. It was better to be safe than sorry. It had been a few years ago now, but the adults had to remember it better than she did.

She moved quickly, looking for the berry stall. It was a short journey, nothing special. She had no interest in most of them, not in their stares or their dislike. She had been five. She had been five and scared.

But everyone was innocent until they did a wrong thing. Then they were unforgivable.

And people said kids were horrible.

She kept walking, feeling the eyes, keeping her head up high. She would not run from them. She would not run from anyone. Pokemon battles needed that judgment. Humans shouldn't have to.

Even so, she quickened her pace when she saw the kids peeking out between stalls with rocks in their hands.

It was best not to stoke those flames.


	4. 4

4.

The berry vendor, thankfully, was not as bad as the rest of them. He was polite, and seemed relieved to see all of the seeds bags. "Thanks so much lass," he said with a sigh of exhaustion. "Greenfield's the easiest place to get berries from Hoenn."

Molly nodded. "It was no problem! The walk was great." She looked around. They were ignoring her now, thankfully. It wouldn't last though, she knew it wouldn't. Usu was making little growling noises at one of the older men. Mary hadn't reacted at all, only yawning at them. Then again, Mary wasn't exactly easy to scare. It was be a doze or be scared every time Uzu discovered a Weedle in one of the sections of the garden.

Regardless, Molly was a little scared. So she took the berries with a nervous smile. (The Poke was hers, stored in a pocket of her skirt.) "Thank you again."

"Stay safe, lass," he said. "The walk is treacherous at night."

 _Not as much as here._ "I will be, sir, thank you." She hurried away, letting the eyes follow her away.

A stone did whiz through the air now, but Mary swung her tail and hit it like a baseball champion. That was the only sign Molly needed to return her Pokemon, and run like a Zubat from the sun.

When she made it out of sight, she stopped at a wooden bench and let out a few deep breaths.

"Thanks, Mary," she told the Pokeball. The ball shook as if she heard her. Molly smiled.

Even if she was alone, the Pokemon would be with her. That would be enough. It had to be.

Leaves crunched from a distance behind her. Molly took that as her excuse to leave.


	5. 5

5.

The path was quieter than it had been that morning. The Pokemon made a few trees rustle, but that was all. She saw a Hoothoot starting to stir and caught a Hoppip falling from a tree. It stared at her blankly, reminding her of just _why_ she didn't want one.

She didn't mind the quiet. She'd like to get back today, if she could. Her shoes clacked against the dirt and one Caterpie shied away. Molly ignored it, but did look to the sky. She sighed. The sun was going down.

She had prepared for this, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She released Usa, directing him to get some firewood. She unrolled her sleeping bag and watched the sunset, feeding Mary berries and setting up the sticks and rocks like her guidebook said. Usa scratched at trees and the forest was no longer quiet and still because they never stay that way.

The stars had risen overhead by the time Molly had successfully gotten a fire going. She imagined Brock could do this easily because of years of experience at his back. She wished she had that. Things would be so much easier. But then again, she wouldn't be here if she did.

The air suddenly grew cold. Her Pokemon both shivered. Molly sat up from her doze, staring around her past the sputtering fire. She watched Usa crouch, paws lifted into fists.

"Usa?"

"Ur!" he replied and then he went over and stomped on the fire with both feet. Then, with a particularly loud huff, he went to stand by a tree and stare at the moon.

Molly took that as a sign to go to bed.


	6. 6

6.

She woke up to the smell of distant smoke.

Usa had stomped out the fire, so the sudden smell made her cough. Forest fire. It could spread. Where was it?

As she breathed quick, shallow breaths, Molly remembered one thing: unlike Misty, she had no water Pokemon. How stupid of her, there were at least hundreds of them! She should have caught one! Like a Mantine

Mary nipped at her ear and she snapped up, repacking her things and hopping into her shoes. She wasn't a Pokemon trainer yet, but she had to do something. "Let's go!" Her Pokemon protested but of course, Molly paid them no heed. No matter how dangerous it was, she'd survived wild Unown, she had befriended a crystal Entei. She could do this, whatever it was. She untied her ribbon and retied it over her nose and mouth. It might pose a problem later, but she was going to the smoke.

She dove into the approaching patches of fog, returning her Mareep. "Get ready for Ice Punch, Usa!"

Usa squeaked disbelief and Molly hushed him. It was difficult to start a natural fire, but it was very easy for a Pokemon to do it. The question was where and how. Her father had given Mareep a move that could probably put the fire out… but there was no point in using it until she found the source, or it would keep spreading. She just had to hope she could get through the smoke and not burn up before then.

Or that someone noticed the fire.

The heat struck her hard in the face, making her stumble. Molly grit her teeth and pushed forward.

Her parents were going to be _mad._


	7. 7

7.

She coughed, covering her face with her ribbon again. It was hard to move and the further she ran, the more Usa tripped near her feet. She was tempted to return him, despite the possible wild Pokemon fleeing and hitting her. They were probably close enough to the source that she could risk letting out Mary again. She just had to hope that-

Usa squeaked but it wasn't quick enough for her to avoid the weight of a Rattata barreling into her. She hit the ground and yelped in pain. Her clothes were good for a short journey, but not for the battering they were about to take that was for sure!

Usa made to go after it but at Molly's tiny whimpers, went to help her up instead. She grimaced. She was going to have to get used to this. Coughing and gasping a little, she made her way back and released Mary. The sheep instantly started to cough. "Mary, Rain Dance," Molly ordered through her wheezing for air.

She really needed a Shaymin right about now.

Mary began to hop awkwardly back and forth, coughing all the while. Molly grimaced. Whirlwind would be useful too,at least to free Mary and make her dance easier.

She heard the sound of loud cawing and looked up, seeing two Murkrow shoot into the sky. "Hey," she shouted. "Mind helping? Wing Attack!"

The flames were too loud and they continued to fly away. She coughed.

Usa squeaked in alarm and she squinted through the heat. Molly took a few steps forward, rubbing her eyes.

There, smoking and red, was a Houndour den. The dogs leaped around it, trying to protect something about the size of her torso. A whole lot of them.

Pokemon eggs.

"Oh no," she whispered. Her vision started to blur.


	8. 8

8.

Molly stumbled and slipped, hitting the ground. She spat out dirt, coughing and letting out a shudder. Her limbs felt heavy. She could barely hear Mary whining a few feet away, still dancing even though she didn't want to. Molly lifted her head, made to crawl.

Mom and dad are gonna be mad… was that even important now? She could die here. She really could… No.

The important part of battling was knowing when to stop. And she was still battling, and she wasn't ready to stop. She made her way to her hands and knees and crawled, still coughing. She coughed again and her vision blurred. She threw out Usa's ball. "Get..." she coughed. "get the eggs!"

Usa glared at her and she managed to glare right back, moving to crawl from the smoke. Looking back, this had been a bad decision. But… she was in now. She had to keep it up.

A wet tongue licked her face when her eyes closed. The Houndour were nudging her, trying to get her to move. Molly hadn't even realized she had collapsed. She tried to move. Usa put the egg down, now far away from the blaze and ran to her. The dogs yipped and barked and the air seemed to grow even warmer.

No, she thought. Wasn't Mary done yet? Wasn't she-

 _Plip._

 _Crash._

 _Plip._

Another loud crash, this one so close to her ears, right after the raindrops. A thump.

Oh, Molly felt her head beginning to loll. She was. But… but now, it was… She couldn't.

The last thing she saw was the blurry shapes of grey paws.


	9. 9

9.

Entei surveyed his surroundings with a mere narrowing of his eyes. Flames licked his fur and vanished harmlessly into it. He huffed, throwing back his mane and stepping forward. He looked past the smoke, seeing the rapidly forming clouds of a Rain Dance. He cast his eyes to see the sheep dancing, eyes on something by one of his paws. He moved away, it likely wasn't important. The concern was the eggs, at least for them. There were thousands of these hounds in existence, though they did not know that. They could spare a few young.

This wasn't his territory, saving babies and heroism. People tried that, of course. However, he needed the flames. Johto had so few volcanoes, something needed to revive him. If he saved someone in the process, he supposed that was well and good.

As he leaped, taking in flame after flame, the rain began to patter. A Teddiursa wandered to the thing near his foot, coughing and squeaking and covered in soot. It nudged it with both paws, and the most Entei heard was a faint wheeze. The rain fell in faster pattering, starting to soak his fur. His presence here was almost unnecessary, or would be, if left well enough alone. He leaped towards the larger flames, dousing them with steps that seemed too gentle for a Pokemon of his size.

By the time he had stopped, the storm was falling in earnest. The Houndour that weren't circling the eggs were sniffing at the thing on the ground. Entei hadn't even stopped to look at it, it being less important than his meal and these trees. He went to sniff it. Ah… a human child. No wonder he hadn't recognized it.

Ah. It was dying too.

Entei let out a rumbling sound, almost a growl. It must have been trying to save the eggs. Poor human child. Its companions squeaked fear.

It was a very lucky human child too.

Entei took a deep breath and exhaled a gentle flame.


	10. 10

10.

Molly awoke to the kisses of frantic Houndour. She opened her eyes slowly and let out a whimper of pain. Her body was stiff and heavy and something warm curled around her, Two somethings, actually. She opened her eyes and groaned. That really hurt to do.

Mary and Usa jumped her in an instant, hugging her and crying about something. She smelled like something burnt. Her brain wobbled in her head. "What happened?" Molly looked down. Her clothes were badly burnt, supplies barely salvageable and an egg by her legs.

The sight of the egg brought flickers of memories, the smell of flame and coughing up smoke. She looked to her side. Urgh, she had barfed in her sleep. From the smoke, it was likely. From a fire that she had somehow ended up in, and survived.

"How am I…?" She started coughing. "How am I still alive?"

Her Pokemon didn't seem to care, they were too busy hugging her close. As she sat up, the faint whiff of smoke faded away.

She looked around again and frowned at the sight of heavy prints in the dried mud.

"Molly!" a voice screamed in the distance.

"Papa!" Molly picked up the egg before she had realized it, waving. She didn't remember much of what happened, and her body still ached all over, but somehow… she just got the feeling she had had an incredible adventure! And she wasn't even a Pokemon trainer yet!

The egg in her arms made a tiny wobble.

And in the distance, a lion roared. In a sober state of mind, she would have known its name.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ ** And that's the end of Molly's little adventure. It got away from me but I hope you all enjoyed it!


End file.
